Katzenjammers

I can understand that this doesn’t have the best reviews. It’s a big and loud Bierkeller in London Bridge that can get very hot and very packed very quickly.

But go on a Monday to Wednesday night early and you can get a better deal on your meal and beer. Beer selection is good (better selection of German beers than you can find in most other places!) if a little pricey.

While the sausages and schnitzel might not be to everyone’s taste, they are good for a quick bite or to help cut through all the steins you are drinking!

I have to say that it was a very dreadful experience tonight being out in this restaurant/pub… or whatever it was…. Getting the bill serverd before the meal was quite a surprise for the whole bunch of 15 people I was there with… Overpriced beer (0.5l Augustiner Edelstoff 4.95 GBP, of course a luxury to get it in London) Poor service, who didn’t even aplogize to my complaint.. The dish i ordered was the saussage platter, it looked appalling and has nothing to do with the food I know from my own country. The saussages looked like cooked with a hair drier!! How embarrasing, for me as a German to go out on a night with friends in a place like this. Never again….
Regards

When I was at Katzenjammers it was very crowded, and I was happy to get a place at all. I found myself amidst a rugby team. Well, interesting experience. A lot of strong and drunk guys, shouting, singing and all that. Not the most relaxing dinner, but a funny experience anyway.

The Schnitzel I had was okay, but nothing special. The pretzel I ordered as a main arrived as kind of dessert. So the timing was not perfect. I guess, I should go there again to see how it tasted and feels without a crowd of drunk rugby players around. But then, I guess, it will be really boring…

Full review at www.grumblinggourmet.com

Barvarian style bierkeller in Borough. The name translates as caterwaul, appropriate for somewhere designed around low slung ceilings and loud, communal conversation. It was half full but still verging on too loud, not somewhere to take a date certainly, but the kind of place an office party could get their vocal chords limbered up before heading to a discotheque. The beer list is solid, lengthy, German and available in steins. The food list is perfunctory and pig flavoured. A number of different sausages come with (badly) fried chips, the other specials include Wiener Schnitzel, a plate size slice of pork, covered in breadcrumbs and forced into the fryer. Germany perversely manages more Michelin starred restaurants than any other European country other than the UK and France, but manages to have a universal reputation for bad, fried food. Katzenjammers offers a fun night, but won't change your mind about the cuisine.

Raucous beery subterranean fun.

Surprisingly there aren't many genuinely awesome watering holes around Borough Market, and since it opened a few months back, K-Js has become our haunt of choice.

They do the important stuff: sausage, steins and a good fresh pretzel.

I really really like it here. Although somehow ending up in here on a hot summers night wasn't very clever. But, it was my friend's birthday, he likes all the many many types of beer, so here we came.

Thing is, every time I've been here, I've been not drinking very much. I can attest that the cherry beer is excellent, but that's it. Everyone else seemed happy though. And I here good things about the food. Had I not had a nap late on Saturday afternoon, I wouldn't have missed dinner...

The tables are huge, it gets loud, the service can vary between good and crappy (if you're waiting at the bar AND having a conversation, they'll ignore you) but it's fun. Really really fun.

The opening hours confuse me. First time I came here everyone left at 12:30. Saturday everyone was out by 11. But, it's not cheap so you'll have spent all of your beer pennies by then anyway.

The surly bar staff, overpriced drinks and lacklustre atmosphere were not the worst part of my evening here.

Despite taking our money for a final round, we weren't allowed to finish and were kicked out just 10 minutes after last orders. Protesting this, we were exposed to a hostile, intimidating and belligerent tirade by the thuggish manager.

If only the pints here were 50p cheaper than I might have given this place 5 stars!

The selection of German beers here is unparalleled (especially on draught) and the menu lists them in the most user friendly manner. The food is excellent German fare at what I consider a reasonable price (unlike the drinks). The place is not too noisy as can happen in such bars. The traditional accordion player was a pleasant diversion. The waitresses’ costumes are unfortunately a little less revealing than the dirdel (?) but I suspect they prefer the more basic serving wench look. The big tables are what you expect to find, perfect for a group…otherwise you might have to share and make some new friends.

But when 2 pints comes to almost 10 pounds….you just can’t drink here often!

I had my birthday here on a Friday night which was very busy as expected but a really great atmosphere and we did manage to get a bench for most of the evening. Lots of German beer to choose from served in traditional german style. An oompa band played pop songs which was great and I even got a rendition of happy birthday! Fantastic place to have drinks with friends, good atmosphere, great place, different music but most importantly lots of different drinks to try. Certainly aptly named.

Katzenjammer is apparently the German term for hangover (or literaly "misery of cats"), and judging by the fact that you can order a stein (actually 2 pints rather than 1 ltr) of 6% Oktoberfest beer you can understand why!

The bar is laid out with large benches and tables in a typical Bavarian style, and is attractively decorated. You can either order at the bar or have table service. The range of beers is a large and excellent selection from Germany. The bar staff wear traditional Bavarian dress, adding to the atmosphere.

I've been several times since its opening about a month ago. On a Friday night visit, a brass band played pop music - sounds cheesy but does create an excellent atmosphere.

I can recommend the food. Especially ordering a large pretzel with every drink (£1.10). Also good are the sausage platters (served with lots of sauerkraut), cured meat selection. They do have at least one vegetarian dish.

Overall a highly recommended bar with a great atmosphere. Would be particularly good if you booked a whole table for a large group or party.

A fabulous addition to the variety of bars in SE1. A no brainer really, awesome beer,great food and waitresses dressed in Bavarian costumes...what more would a man/women need!
The eclectic range of traditional German wheat beers and four different beers on tap are fantastic. We didn't eat but we will definitely eat next time, the portions looked ample and the table service (although it was busy) was excellent.
There was a rather camp young German guy looking mournful playing the accordion all night which was a sweet touch adding to the general air of boozed up merry people! Good work

Went on last Wednesday, got there just after 5, and it wasn't crowded. The beer was good, as was the selection, and the service quite reasonable. The table service needs work. The sausage taster I tried was good. I'll try a main meal next time.

Somewhat luckier than 3stripe I was in there about 15 minutes after it opened and only had a wait at the bar of about 5 minutes. Didn't risk the waitress service as the place was like a madhouse, so just had the one drink. Looking forward to re-visiting on a 'normal' night.

It was the first night but a 45 minute wait for a beer is inexcusable. Ours never came so we left. Shame as it looked promising!